


Emi Girl

by cannedbipanic



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Divorced KuroKen, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Haikyuu with kids, How Do I Tag, Ig I'll add more as I go, Implied Sexual Content, Kidfic, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Oikawa and Iwaizumi are on the Japan Team, Protective Kageyama Tobio, iwaoi has kids, no one calls anyone mom here lmfao, single dad kageyama tobio, they all have kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:09:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28881501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cannedbipanic/pseuds/cannedbipanic
Summary: Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime, and Oikawa Emiko take on the world.Will it be easy? No.Will it be worth it? Abso-fucking-lutely.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kageyama Tobio/Kunimi Akira, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 11
Kudos: 50





	1. Peachy

**Author's Note:**

> There are not enough kidfics in the world for me, so I wrote one.
> 
> Each chapter will be a snapshot of a year in the Oikawa-Iwaizumi families life. 
> 
> Hope ya like it :)
> 
> -SIDE NOTE: this is how I have seen nearly everyone act around infants. do not make it weird.-

Chapter One (Twelve months.)

A smile so warm on his face that it may have been mistaken for manic anger, Oikawa Tooru looked down at the spotless baby that was currently strapped in her high chair, peach baby food all over the table. Miraculously, none of it was getting on her and all of it was getting on Tooru.  
“Baby,” He started, voice dripping in sweetness. “Baby!”  
The little one grinned widely, a toothless smile taking over her face. Tooru almost flipped a table in joy. Progress...  
“Eat your peaches!” The baby squealed again, and Tooru actually laughed. He had been trying to feed his stubborn daughter for the better part of an hour, but he wasn’t getting anywhere. He picked up the spoon, and the baby swallowed the mush. Or so he thought. Until she spit it back out all over his face.   
“Princess, you’re killing me,” Oikawa groaned, more to the wall than the actual baby. “Maybe you don’t like peaches. Is that it, baby? Do you not like em?” He turned around to get another jar of baby food, maybe avocado this time, when he heard slurping noises from behind him. Turning around, he saw his baby sucking on a peach covered hand, spoon be damned, and was eating the food by herself. He took a deep breath, and pumped his fist just as the door opened.  
“That’s my girl! Oh look at that! Iwa-chan’s home!” When the baby flailed its arms, Oikawa grinned.  
“Why do you have more food on your face than Emi?” Hajime deadpanned.  
“Because we are raising a camel,” Tooru said back enthusiastically, examining his face and shirt, which were thoroughly soaked in peach juice. “She’s also eating by herself.”  
“Really?”  
“Really. But no spoon yet.” Hajime turned around to see Emiko, no longer spotless, happily finishing off the remaining peach. “Now I need to shower. Go spend time with your daughter. You get to wipe her down.”  
Tooru left the room, and Hajime put his briefcase down and loosened his tie. Tooru had taken the week off to protect his knee and give his body a chance to recover, which also gave him a full week with Emiko. Hajime, however, still had constant meetings and training sessions. He grabbed a soft, green washrag and began rinsing it, eyes not leaving Emiko, who was boring hers into the sink. He slowly took it out, and Emiko, knowing what was coming, made a distressed noise.  
“Oh, I know, I know” He muttered, grabbing one of her hands. He began to gently wipe it down, and Emiko only got louder. “Shhh. Shhhh.” He wiped down her other hand quickly before she could clasp them together again, and then braced himself for the hardest part. He made sure the rag was splayed out against his hand, and grabbed her face. Emiko shrieked, and Hajime just wanted to make it quick. As soon as he felt like he covered most of her face, the rag was gone, and a crying Emiko was being taken out of her high chair  
“I’m sorry, I know, Kiddo.” He sat down, and began to bounce the baby on his knee. After about 45 seconds, she began to burp and spit up. Iwaizumi let out a satisfactory sigh, wiped up the spit, and laid her down.  
“So what do we do now, Emi? Wait for Daddy to finish showering so you can have bath time?” He smiled. Wow, she really is a carbon copy of Tooru. They had hired a surrogate, and were very surprised to see that when they held her for the first time, that she was literally a mini-Tooru. Emiko made another noise, and Iwaizumi laughed.   
“You can’t blame him. I heard that you did not like your peaches very much today.” Emi must’ve stared into his soul, because he felt a shiver run up and down his spine.  
“Ok ok fine, you’re allowed to not like peaches.” Emi blinked, and Hajime took that as an I know, Iwa-chan, screw you, and spun her around.  
“The lengths I go to in order to get a reaction out of you,” Hajime said to Emi, shaking his head. “You don’t even understand me.”  
He lightly tossed her up in the air, and caught her. She giggled, and Hajime did it again. By the time Tooru got out of the shower, Emi was squealing and Hajime was laughing. Adorned in a worn t-shirt and shorts, hair plastered to his head, Tooru Oikawa’s life flashed before his eyes in a hospital trip, a sobbing baby, stitches, a giant medical bill, and a brain damage diagnosis.   
“Hajime! Put her down!”  
Hajime put her back on his hip, and looked down from the ceiling at Tooru, who was rubbing his eyes. He reached out, and Hajime passed the baby to Tooru. “If you give her a concussion I’m never forgiving you.”  
“Tooru, you act like I was throwing her at the wall,” He chuckled. “I would never drop her. I value my life too much to let that happen.”  
Tooru snorted and looked at the clock. “Well, it’s bath time, so do you want to start running it?” Hajime saluted, and walked to the bathroom. He plugged the drain, spent thirty experimental seconds adjusting the water, and then reached under the sink to grab a bucket and bath toys.  
Once the bath was full, and the vibrant colored toys were floating in the warm water, Hajime sighed, proud of himself. “Bath is ready!”  
“We’re coming!” He heard Tooru say in a sing-song voice. He heard footsteps coming towards the bathroom.   
“Bathtime! Can you say ‘bath,’ Emi?” Emi made a noise in attempt, and Tooru squinted mechanically.   
“Hajime, you think she’s gonna do it tonight?”   
“Any day now,” He responded. They had both made attempts to get Emiko to say words, and she was making more noise. When Tooru had figured out that she was in prime time to start enunciating words, they made an even bigger effort. Sitting sideways on the toilet, seat down, he slowly poured the small bucket over Emiko’s head.   
“Dadaaaaaa” Tooru tried. “Say Dada”  
“D-d-d,” She babbled, opening her mouth at the end to show that she had tried her best.   
“Okay...what about Iwaaaa” Hajime said. Tooru narrowed his eyes at him, smiling menacingly once again.  
“Dadaaa” Tooru said again.  
“Iwaaaa” Hajime countered.  
“Waaaaa!” Emiko said enthusiastically.  
“Yes! Waa! Iwaaaa!”  
“Iwaaaaa!” Emiko repeated. Hajime grinned, and Tooru gasped.  
“Say it again, Emi! Iwaaaa!”  
“IWAAAA!” Emi said, now smiling broadly at her parents, who were elated. Hajime pointed to himself. “Iwa!”  
“IWAAAAA!”  
“Unbelievable,” Tooru laughed dryly, flicking Hajime’s forehead. “I’m so mad.”  
“IWAAAAAAA” Hajime took out his phone.   
“Emi! What did you say?!”  
“IWAAAAA!”  
Hajime turned the camera, so that he was filming Tooru. “Any thoughts?”  
“Iwaaaa gets to put her down tonight,” He said through a beam. Hajime laughed, and stopped recording. 

After Emi had successfully been put down, Hajime carefully closed the door behind him. He walked down the hallway to the kitchen, where Tooru was spooning soup into a bowl. He looked up. “Well, that was awfully fast, Hajime.”  
“She was tuckered out,” He replied, sitting down. “What did you two do all day?”  
“We went to the park, met up with our neighbor Sugawara and his kid Eiji. I think he and Emi get along pretty well. They crawled around a lot.”  
“Is that how you can tell that babies are hitting it off?” Hajime smirked.  
“I guess,” Tooru said, shrugging. “I think ‘Wheels on the Bus’ is permanently ingrained into my head.”  
Hajime blinked. “Please not after 8PM.”  
“So,” Tooru said, putting his spoon down. “How was your day?”  
“It was fine, Bokuto’s hand is healing well. The team misses you.”  
“That’s good, I can’t imagine what they would do without me,” Tooru said playfully.  
Hajime shook his head. “I could help you stretch…”  
“Iwaizumi!” Tooru gasped in mock horrifics. “Are you trying to seduce me?”  
“Nope. You’re probably sore, Mr. Bad knee,” Iwaizumi deadpanned.   
“Being sore does not mean you can’t f-.” From down the hallway, they heard the telltale screaming of their daughter. Hajime raised his eyebrows, and Tooru sighed.  
“I thought you said she was ‘tuckered out.”  
Hajime waved Tooru off, and went down the hallway and into the room where the screaming baby was located.  
“Hey, hey, baby, shhhh.” He said quietly, picking up Emi, who was probably beet red. He continued whispering.  
“Shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh,” He whispered, rocking her. When Emi did not calm down, he sat down in the chair that was located next to her crib. He rocked back and forth in the chair, slowly but surely. After about two minutes, she quieted down, and by the time ten minutes was over, Emiko was sound asleep. Carefully, he laid her in her crib, and shut the door behind him as quietly as he possibly could.   
Going back down the hallway, Hajime signaled that Emi was out cold, and Tooru stretched.  
“Took you long enough.”  
“We can’t rock her to sleep forever, you know.” Hajime said. Tooru frowned.  
“Yeah. I’ll start slipping cocaine into her baby food.”  
“Maybe she’d eat it if you did,” Hajime snorted. “Peach is not a good color on you, Tooru.”  
“Would you like to sleep on the couch tonight?”  
“No.”  
“That’s what I thought.”


	2. The Emi-Ometer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emiko, Hajime, and Tooru pay a visit to Tooru's parents. They have...questionable morals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! This chapter is not very important to the overall plot of the story, and contains homophobia. If that makes you uncomfortable, please skip this chapter.

Chapter Two (two years old)

“Hajime!” Tooru called from the other side of the car, strapping Emiko into her car seat. “Have you seen Bonnet?”  
Bonnet, Emi’s favorite stuffed animal, was a blue turtle with a bonnet sewn on to its head. Emi refused to part with Bonnet at all costs, so she went with them everywhere. In this case, they were headed to the Oikawa household, about a two hour drive from their small row house that they had moved in soon after Emiko started to babble her first words.  
“Uh, nope,” Hajime said from behind the trunk. In it held the one bag Tooru and Hajime shared, Emi’s stroller, high chair, bassinet, sensory table, diapers, first-aid kit, a bag full of toys to keep her occupied, a bag of quartered grapes and other toddler-appropriate snacks, and a bag of her clothes.  
“Where’s Bonnet?” Emi asked, mimicking Tooru and skeptically examining the floor of their car.  
“I don’t know sweetie. Maybe she’s in the bag that Iwa-chan is currently stuffing into the middle of the trunk-Hajime, use your head! She might want those!” Emi giggled.  
“Ha-ji-me, use your head!” She copied. Tooru laughed, and Hajime gave Emi a tired-looking smile, and Tooru the bag. “Alright, alright. Spare me, you two. I haven’t had my coffee yet.”  
“Iwa-chan hasn’ ha’ his coffee yet,” Emi informed Tooru, who nodded solemnly.  
“He has a big cup, too. I wonder why he hasn’t taken a sip.”  
Because Daddy keeps pestering me!” Hajime said from behind the car, causing Emi’s eyes to widen, and Tooru to snicker. He’ll never fully get used to Hajime calling him Daddy.  
He looked through the bag, and found Bonnet chilling below some books. He grinned at the turtle, and walked it up Emi’s car seat. Her face lit up.  
“Hello, Emi. You look especially radiant today,” He said with his mouth as closed as it could possibly be. Emi giggled, and grabbed Bonnet from Tooru’s hands.  
“Okay! You look all ready to go to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house!” Tooru exclaimed. “Iwa, you ready?”  
When the trunk shut and a faint “you bet” was emitted from Hajime, Tooru hopped into the driver seat and buckled his seatbelt. Hajime climbed into the passenger’s seat.  
“Love.”  
“Hm.”  
“Seatbelt. And then drink some coffee for goodness sake, are you that dependent on caffeine?”  
“...”  
“Okay! Let’s hit the road!”  
Half an hour had passed, and after Hajime had spent a good third of it reaching behind him to get Emi a toy, or a grape, she lulled off to sleep.  
“Oh, is Emiko asleep?” Tooru asked, once he noticed the silence. Hajime nodded. “It’s good that she can get some shuteye before she has to put up with meeting her grandparents.” Tooru sighed. Emiko met Hajime’s parents a while ago, back when she was just born, because Hajime was a lot closer with his parents than Tooru was with his. Emi always got more quiet around people she wasn’t always around, and she even got a little shy around Eiji and Sugawara sometimes.  
“Are you nervous?” Hajime asked, earnestly looking at Tooru for him to pick up in his peripherals.  
“Not really. I’ve got a life now. What my mother and father think are the least of my concerns. My number one priorities are Emi and you.” Tooru said, rather sharply. Hajime sighed, and waited a few seconds.  
“Nervous isn’t really the right word. I just feel like I’m walking into an argument where I’m up against a brick wall. And I know that Emi deserves to meet her grandparents, but if my mother says one godforsaken thing about me in front of her, I’m going to be so mad. And I know she will because that’s just her nature.”  
“Hey,” Hajime said, “Maybe she’ll see what a kind, hilarious, caring little girl we’re in the middle of raising and ease up on you a little bit.”  
Tooru rolled his eyes. “By like, a miracle.”  
“Also, I heard somewhere that babies can sense the good and evil in people, so Emi can be our radar.” At this Tooru snorted and continued driving.  
About an hour and fifteen minutes later, Emi woke back up. When Hajime heard the seatbelt rustle, he turned around in his seat.  
“Hey Daddy, Emi’s awake!”  
Tooru smiled at the road. “Morning sleepyhead.”  
“Was I sleepy?” Emi asked, yawning.  
“You were sleeping for quite a while,” Tooru replied. “Drink some water.”  
Hajime took out a purple sippy cup that was filled with water, and handed it back to Emiko. She took a long sip, and reached out to give it back to Hajime.  
Tooru pulled into the familiar driveway, and took a deep breath. “We’re here!”  
He got out of the car, and took Emi out so she could toddle around and stretch her legs. He grabbed her hand, his bag, and her toys. He didn’t get a chance to take a deep breath before the door swung open.  
“Tooru.”  
“Mom.”  
“It’s been a minute since we spoke.”  
“...Yup.”  
There was an awkward silence. Besides reaching out through social media the past week to arrange the visit, they hadn’t formally spoken in almost ten years. Both of them had changed. Tooru’s mother had greyed more since when he last saw her. Frown lines were etched on her forehead. Her eyes were less sharp than they used to be, but still held the same amount of ferocity. Tooru changed too. He refused to look at his shoes, and he wasn’t afraid of his mother’s soul-penetrating glare. When she saw Emiko hiding behind Tooru’s leg, his mom bent down to pick her up.  
“You should go help Haruko unpack. I’ll take Emiko.”  
“It’s...Hajime,” He said to the door that had closed in his face. “And Emi’s not gonna like that.” He turned on his heel to help his partner, who was struggling to carry both the stroller and the high chair, and the bassinet.  
“Iwa-chan, your arms are very strong, but let me help with some of that.”  
“Okay, uh, where’s Emi?”  
“My mother has her.”  
“That was to be expected. I hope Emi’ll be okay.”  
There was silence for a few seconds before Tooru put the stroller back.  
“In case we have to go, we shouldn’t bring too much inside. Just bring the high chair and the bassinet. Emi only really needs Bonnet.”  
They crept through the front door and around the corner to the kitchen, where Emi was sitting on the table, seconds away from tears. “I want Iwa-chan!”  
Tooru heard his mom ask who Iwa-chan was, and felt his vision go red. She knows. Emi thought for a second, but being the ripe age of two years old, she could only choke out an “...Iwa-chan.” He closed his eyes.  
“Mom, where should we put these?”  
“You can put the high chair over there where the table is. I’ve set up the guest bedroom on the second floor for you and the pull-out bed downstairs for Hajime.”  
Hajime huffed and Tooru’s mouth was pressed into a line. “Mom, you didn’t have to set up both. Hajime and I can share a bed.”  
“That’s not necessary. I’ve already gone and done it.”  
“I can take the sheet off the pull-out.” Tooru said through a smile.  
“Tooru, please. It’s fine. Thank you, Mrs. Oikawa,” Hajime said. He pecked Tooru on his cheek, and reached out for Emi.  
“I got her. She needs a diaper change-”  
“I can do it,” Oikawa’s mother cut him off. Tooru nearly threw the high chair he was holding. Out of the trajectory of his daughter, of course. His mother was a different story.  
“Mom, just let him do it. We need to set up the-”  
“Why are you being so defensive, Tooru? I’m just saying that I can probably do it better than either of you-”  
“He knows what she needs,” Tooru snapped, picking up Emi and handing her to Hajime, not missing the way she visibly relaxed. “Now. Would it be alright to set up her bassinet next to the guest bedroom?”  
His mom nodded slowly, narrowing her eyes. “Hatsume can go change her diaper, I guess.” Hajime blinked, and walked Emi to the living room.  
As they went upstairs to set up the bassinet, it was silent until his mom grimaced.  
“Normally, this would be put next to the mother, but I guess you’ll just have to make do since you’re the girly one.”  
Tooru blinked. “Excuse me? That’s not a thing, Mom. Both of us are men, and that’s the whole point. Second of all, I do more than make do, Mom. Hajime and I are raising Emi to be-.”  
“You’re raising her to be shallow, and cold. Every girl needs a mothers love, and she is not going to have that, Tooru. You know, you’re not married yet, and there’s still time to-”  
“I’m staying with Hajime for the rest of my life, and the second it’s legal to be married here, we will be.”  
“Don’t say that-”  
“No, I will say that. And for the record, this lecture wouldn’t be happening right now if I married a woman and she passed away-”  
“Because at least I know you tried!” His mother huffed. Tooru took a deep breath. “What is that even supposed to mean? Hajime is as good of a father as any mother.”  
“I’m sure he would be a good father if he had a wife,” his mother snapped. “What’s gonna happen when she starts developing? What do you know about periods? Bras? Practicing straight sex for fucks sake-”  
“We are going to do our research, sit her down, and explain it to her just like a mother would,” Tooru shot back, eyes flashing. “You never explained to me how two men fucked, and I was just fine-”  
“Tooru, stop that!”  
“I hope you know that I’m only visiting you and Dad because I know Emiko deserves to meet her grandparents. I’m not here to argue with you about my life, or I would have been long gone by now.” He said, finishing the bassinet. “So go give your coldhearted, shallow granddaughter some time of day.”  
They made their way down the stairs, where Hajime was awkwardly sitting across the living room from Oikawa’s silent Dad. They had all obviously heard every word of the argument upstairs, and Emiko was sitting on her grandfather’s lap, pale in the face.  
“Hi, Dad,” Tooru supplied.  
“It’s been a while, Tooru.”  
“It has.”  
“Emi is very beautiful.”  
“Thank you. Yes she is.”  
“So, Hajime, I heard you work with Tooru?”  
“Yes, I’m the athletic trainer for the Japanese National Team.”  
“So basically an olympian.”  
Hajime chuckled. “You could say that.”  
“Emiko is going to be a volleyball superstar!”  
“Well,” Tooru’s mother said. “If Emiko ever learns to talk, that is.”  
“She’s a chatterbox when it’s just us three, I promise,” Hajime said, smiling politely.  
Tooru’s mother seemed to think this over, and shrugged in response. “I have a question. What does she call you two? Doesn’t it get confusing having two Dads?”  
“She calls me Dad, and Hajime Iwa-chan,” Tooru said tartly.  
“Doesn’t that make you mad, Hayato?” Tooru’s mom pried. Hajime took a deep breath. Was she just getting his name wrong on purpose at this point?  
“...Well, no. Iwa-chan has a lot of...emotional sentiment attached to it, so it’s not like she’s calling me a random nickname. I don’t see how it would make me mad.”  
“Well it would make me feel like less of a parent.” She said bluntly. Hajime had to control his mouth from opening and closing.  
“It doesn’t make me feel like that at all. Iwa was her first word. I wouldn’t have her call me anything else.”  
Tooru’s mother did not seem to like that at all, and she absentmindedly swallowed her water. “What time are you guys leaving tomorrow?”  
“Bright and early. Probably before you wake up. We both have work.”  
Hajime nodded in agreement, knowing full well that neither of them had work the next day. There was more silence, and Oikawa’s mother folded her hands together.  
“There’s something we want to discuss with you and Hatsume-”  
“Hajime," Tooru corrected before a migraine could start.  
“Hajime. Before I say anything,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “Just know that I have Emiko’s best interest in mind.”  
Hajime’s eyebrows went through the roof, and Tooru inhaled sharply through his teeth before gritting out an honest, “I don’t like where this is going, but go ahead.” Emiko wriggled out of her grandfather’s grip, and toddled over to Hajime. Tooru remembered what Hajime said about good and evil, and almost smirked victoriously.  
There was quiet for another five seconds before she spoke up again. “Your father and I would like to adopt Emiko. I’ve thought a lot about this, and I think it would be better for her mentally and physically to have a woman in the house...in place of a man and-”  
Tooru shut his eyes and opened them up again, trying to keep his temper in front of Emi. “I can’t believe that you two thought that over and decided that it would be in any way acceptable to say.”  
“Tooru, you have to listen to me-”  
“No, Mom. You have to listen to me. Emi is our daughter. We would never do anything to put her in danger, ever. We care about her mental and physical health a million times more than you care about me being gay.”  
“I had a feeling you would say that,” She sighed. “Just know we’ll be pressing charges.”  
Tooru picked up Emiko before anyone else could. “Charges for what? I am her legal guardian and biological father, there are no charges to press. We’re leaving.”  
“Tooru you need to-”  
“Nope. Hajime, come on, we’re getting out of here.”

As Hajime carefully clicked Emi’s seatbelt shut, Tooru shut the trunk, and with shaky hands, he tried to make his way to the driver’s seat. Hajime grabbed him firmly by the shoulders.  
“You’re not driving.”  
“Yes, I am, Hajime. Let me-” Hajime raised his eyebrows and motioned to Emiko sitting in the back, Bonnet clutched in her hands.  
“You aren’t. You can go on a drive later, after we get home, but not with Emi in the backseat.” Tooru rolled his eyes, and climbed into the passenger’s seat. The car stuttered to life, and Hajime pulled out of the driveway. The GPS guided the twists and turns until they reached the highway. Hajime sighed.  
“I’m putting my foot down. We’re never going there again. Not with her, at least.”  
“My mom has the fucking audacity to scare the shit out of Emiko and then call her quiet, as if she’s fucking simple, Hajime. She acts like we don’t care about her. She just offered to...take her.” Hajime decided it would be good to ignore all the choice words Tooru used to preserve his sanity, and let him continue. "I can't believe I was dumb enough to believe her when she said that she would be so happy to see Emiko for the first time. I should have blocked her number. Why would I even bring her here? This, like, goes down in history as one of the most idiotic things we have ever done."  
“Do you think she was bluffing when she threatened a lawsuit?”  
“She used to do that all the time when I came out. I’m 99% sure she’s bluffing.”  
“...Okay. Well, I think we should file a restraining order.” Tooru was about to reply with a noise of agreement, when Emi piped up from the backseat.  
“Where are we going?”  
“Home, Emi girl.”  
“Okay...I don’t like it.”  
“I know you don’t. We aren’t going back there.”


	3. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooru and Hajime finally get the night to themselves. What do they spend it talking about? Emi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this chapter there is some implied smut. It's nothing explicit, but just a little heads-up.

Chapter Three (Three years old)

“Thanks again, Sugawara-san,” Hajime said gratefully, handing Bonnet to Emi. Sugawara waved his hand dismissively.  
“It’s not like you haven’t babysat Eiji before. All grown-ups need some time by themselves,” Sugawara said with a wink that Hajime almost missed. He looked down at the three-year-old in his arms. “You ready to have a playdate with Eiji, Kiddo?”  
“Yes,” she said happily. She waved at Sugawara. “Hi!” Sugawara’s face almost split in half. “Hi! Come on in! And say bye to your Dad.”  
“Bye Iwa-chan!” She piped happily. Hajime smiled, and put her down, She went walking through the door, and it shut behind her. He turned around to cross the street back to his house, and opened the door to see Tooru buttoning up his shirt.  
“She seemed so excited to leave us,” Hajime said amusedly.  
Tooru looked up to the ceiling and put his hands on his back. “She’s going to preschool next year.”  
“Oh my god.”  
“I know, right?” Hajime sighed, and pulled him into a hug. He smelled good. Not like a teenager like he remembers, or a baby, or sweat from volleyball. Tooru seemed to notice.  
“I know, new cologne. I sprayed it all over myself because I ran out of deodorant.” Hajime separated from him and glowered while Tooru giggled.  
“Let's just go eat some food that isn’t chicken nuggets or buttered noodles.”  
“Oh please yes-”  
They walked out the door, and into the minivan that they had bought because it was necessary.  
“You know,” Tooru snickered. “We really do have a baby car.”  
“Oh well. The other one was, you know, for normal people,” Hajime said back, smirking.  
“This is good,” Tooru said. “We’re always with each other, but it’s always around Emiko, or in a professional setting.” Tooru cracked an evil grin. “Now I can tell you how hot you look all the time.”  
“Oh my god. No. Please no. Do not bring back high school Tooru.”  
Tooru laughed, then batted his eyes and threw up a peace sign. “That’s very mean, Iwa-chan.”  
“Fine then, Shittykawa.”  
“Oh, I do not miss that at all.”  
“I’m aware.”  
They laughed, and continued talking until they reached their destination. “Well, here we are.”  
They got out of the car, and walked into the restaurant. It was a dimly lit place, that was alive with quieted chatter. The hostess looked up, and offered a small smile. “Hello, welcome. Do you have a reservation booked?”  
“It should be under ‘Iwaizumi,” Hajime said.  
“Alright! Table for two?”  
“Yes.”  
“Right this way.”  
As they followed the waitress and sat down, Tooru inspected the place. It was an impressive atmosphere, with red tablecloths, dark wooden floors, and candles.  
“So, this is nice. Like, really nice. I think we’re in over our heads with this one,” He said, looking around at the young couples pretending to be very invested in the other.  
“I know, we’re used to eating with neon green plates and blue forks and spoons,” Hajime deadpanned. “This place is the one with the best reviews.”  
“Well aren’t you fancy, casanova,” Tooru smirked. “Tell me, do you take all your whores here?”  
“Just one,” Hajime snorted. Tooru opened his mouth to retort, but the waiter showed up to the table.  
“Hi, my name is Yahaba. I’ll be your waiter this evening. Is there anything I can get you to start off with?”  
“Can I please have the agedashi tofu?”  
“That’s a real fan-favorite. And for you sir?”  
“Can I please have the shoyu ramen?”  
“Of course...alright, we’ll have that out for you soon.”  
“Thank you!”  
“Thanks.”  
When the waiter walked away, Tooru sighed.  
“You had to have your tofu.”  
“I did.”  
“Sweet, simple Hajime.”  
“You know, this feels like one of the tacky movies Emi watches,” Hajime said, putting his hand down. “Candles, romance, the whole shebang.”  
Tooru raised his eyebrows. “I know. This is straight out of ‘Princess of the Frog’ if you remember watching that Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and last night.”  
“Emi knows it all line by line, but I still randomly crack up every time I remember she’s scared of the firefly.”  
“Yeah, that’s because we raised her to be creeped out by toothless old men.”  
“Okay. Well. There’s that. But it’s so funny.”  
“Oh, it’s hilarious.”  
Tooru and Hajime kept talking. Truthfully, most of it was about Emi and work. They really didn’t have much else to talk about. Before they knew it, they were sitting in front of empty plates and glasses.  
“Well, that was good,” Hajime said, his eyes softened from the light fog of alcohol, and trailing down to the two undone buttons on Tooru’s shirt. Tooru smirked.  
“As good as what’s under my clothes?”  
“Not even close,” Hajime breathed.  
However, they were soon pulled out of their trance by the waiter.  
“Would you two like anything else?”  
Hajime coughed. “Just the check, please.”

Tooru knew that Sugawara knew that him and Hajime fucked last night. It was only common knowledge. When parents had a date night to themselves, they fucked. It would be crazy not to. Right? Sugawara knew that. Of course he did.  
So he chose to swallow his pride and ignore it as he rang the doorbell to Sugawara’s house. When Sugawara opened the door, his eyes were baggy, his skin was pale, and his hair was askew. If not for his bright smile, Tooru would have thought that he had just woken up.  
“Hey, Oikawa. Come on in, Eiji and Emi are eating.”  
Tooru nodded. “Good morning, Suga.”  
He walked into Sugawara and Sawamura’s house. It looked similar to Tooru’s, but the walls were painted a quiet green. There were pictures of their son all over the walls, and one picture of Daichi and Suga, from maybe a few years ago. Definitely pre-Eiji, Tooru determined. They walked down the hall to the kitchen, where Emi and Eiji had syrup all over their faces. Emi looked up, saw her dad, and immediately wiped her face with the back of her arm, spreading the syrup even more. Daichi, Suga’s practical husband, was at the stove trying his best to multitask with children and fire at seven o’clock in the morning. They nodded their heads at each other, and Daichi went back to being tired.  
Suga stared at Tooru blankly. “Twenty seconds ago, their faces were clean-”  
Tooru cut him off, laughing. “You’re totally fine, it’s impossible not to have sticky kids after you give them syrup.” He narrowed his eyes playfully at Emi, who giggled. “Especially someone I know, who has a track record of getting food everywhere.”  
After collecting her things, Tooru picked up his sticky child, bid Eiji, Sugawara, and Daichi a goodbye, and thanked them again. Walking home, he felt the syrup on his arm, and grimaced.  
“Did you actually get any syrup in your mouth, sugar ball? I’m gonna have to hose you down.” Emi giggled again.  
“Eiji had more syrup on his face.”  
“I saw,” Tooru said. “Did you say please and thank you?” When Emi nodded, Tooru smiled. “Good.”  
“What did you and Iwa-chan do...yesterday?”  
“You mean on our date?”  
When Emi squirmed around, Tooru continued. “Well, we went to eat dinner at a really nice place for grown-ups, we talked about you, and then we went to sleep. Actually, I think Iwa-chan’s still asleep. You wanna go give him a big hug?”  
“Yes! After bathtime. I don’t like it.”  
“Aw, man. You have to go hug him with the syrup!”  
“It’s scary.”  
“He’ll only get mad at me, I promise. And I think it’s funny.”  
“Why?”  
“Because, what’s he gonna do? Put me in time out? I’m a grown up.”  
“...He could be mad.”  
“That, Emi Girl, is called a lover’s quarrel. Because it’s not a big deal.”  
“Oh. Uhh.”  
“You don’t have to.”  
“Okay.”


	4. Sicky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emiko comes down with the flu.

Another watery cough broke through Emi’s room, down the hall, and burst through the doors of Hajime and Tooru’s room. Then, the sound of sniffling, then crying, followed by coughing again.  
“Hajime, I think Emi’s sick,” Tooru mumbled from the computer across the room. “I’m gonna go check on her.” Realizing that Hajime was sound asleep, he huffed and got out of bed. Padding down the hall, he opened the door to see Emi sitting up in her bed, face covered in snot and tears. He immediately found a random box of tissues. “Blow through your nose.” She made a pathetic sounding noise, and Tooru felt his heart rip in two. He gently wiped her face and felt her forehead.  
“Aw, Baby, you’re burning up. Why didn’t you come get me?”  
“I just woke up.”  
“Does anything hurt?”  
“...My tummy and my ‘froat.”  
“Your tummy and your throat?”  
“Uh huh.”  
“I think we have some cough syrup in the cabinet. Wait here.”  
Tooru went into the bathroom, looked through the medicine cabinet, and poured out some cough syrup. He then went into the kitchen, got a sippy cup full of water, and went back to her room, and sat by her side.  
“Drink up. This will help your throat.” Emi took one look at the cup of medicine and hesitantly reached out for it. Tooru could see her brave face in the dark of her room, and showed her the water.  
“I know it’s gross, but it really does help. It’s even the extra-strength kind. And you can drink as much of this as you want right after.” Emi nodded, grabbed the sippy cup in her left hand, and drank half of the medicine. She gagged, and quickly was drinking from the cup. Tooru sighed at the last sliver of cough syrup.  
“One more sip, Emi.” He held it up to her mouth, and Emi reluctantly swallowed.  
“That stuff’s gross.”  
“I know, but it works,” Tooru explained. “Iwa-chan will have to take you to the doctor’s office tomorrow. You might have strep throat. Not fun.” Emi’s eyes widened, and then she was whispering. “Is Iwa-chan asleep?”  
“Yeah, but-”  
“You have to whisper!”  
“Oh, ok,” Tooru said, obliging. “Well, he’s probably awake now. He’s a light sleeper.”  
“He snores. How do you sleep in there?” Tooru chuckled. Not too long ago, Emi had gut-punched her father at around three o’clock in the morning after a nightmare because of his snoring. Tooru had to admit, even though he acted concerned to be a good example, she had quite the arm on her.  
“I’m a deep sleeper. And I sleep better when there’s just a little noise.”  
“Am I a deep sleeper?”  
Tooru thought for a second. “I think you’re a light sleeper like Iwa-chan. But you sleep very well in the car, which is not very common.” Emi coughed again, and Tooru remembered why he was talking to his toddler at one in the morning in the first place.  
“Why don’t you get some rest?"  
“Can I sleep with you?” Emi looked up with watery eyes. “I don’t like it.”  
Tooru picked her up with a tired sigh and a yawm. “Ok. But no hitting. Just shake Iwa-chan if he starts to snore.”  
Emi looked up for a second. “I didn’t hit Iwa-chan!”  
“Maybe you don’t remember it, but you fucking-oh shoot-you punched Iwa-chan pretty hard,” Tooru said, walking down the hall, and creaking the door open to Hajime sitting up and rubbing his eyes.  
“Iwa-chan, we have a sicky in the house.”  
“Oh nooo,” He said, words slurred from sleep. He repositioned himself towards the end of the bed, and curled up again. Emi giggled when Tooru swatted the air near Hajime. Emi hopped up on the bed, and splayed out across the bed.  
“Ok, scoot over.”  
“I am!”  
“Shh, Kiddo. Inside voice," Hajime said, still drowsy. Tooru huffed at him, picked Emi up, and placed her about six inches from where she was. He was able to squeeze into his side of the bed, and sighed when both Haijime and Emi’s breathing steadied.

Then Emi threw up all over the sheets and Hajime’s back.

“Did Emi just puke?” Hajime asked, trying his best to turn around.  
“Yup. Get up,” Tooru said, picking Emiko up by the shoulders and carrying her to the bathroom. He turned the lights on, and sat her down on the edge of the bathtub.  
“Do you feel like you have to throw up again?”  
When Emiko nodded, Tooru shifted her in front of the toilet. She made retching noises, but nothing came out except for spit. Hajime poked his head in, donning a new shirt and carrying the vomit-soaked sheets, fully awake. “Are we going to urgent care? Did you give her anything? How’s she feeling?”  
Tooru looked down at Emi, who was still retching. “Well, I don’t really know what defines needing to go to urgent care, but she has a sore throat and a stomachache.”  
Hajime squeezed his eyes shut. “Flu?”  
“Probably.”  
“One of us will have to take her to the Doctor tomorrow.”

Emi fell into a fitful sleep at around 2 o'clock, with a bucket clutched to her side, in the middle of Hajime and Tooru’s bed. Hajime rubbed his eyes.  
“How could she have gotten sick? We literally watch everything the kid puts in her mo...Suga.”  
Tooru nodded, rolling his eyes. Suga was a good babysitter, and Tooru really did trust him. But he also had to watch Eiji, who was a handful, while he watched Emi at the same time. Separate, the two toddler’s powers were limited, but together, they could probably plan a murder right under Suga’s nose.  
“I have to take her to the doctor tomorrow. Having a replacement setter for a day is better than the Athletic trainer missing, as much as it pains me to say.”  
“You’ll have to take the train.”  
“Hajime, why can’t we take the car?”  
“You know that it’s at least a two mile walk from the train station if I don’t.”  
“I guess.”  
“Don’t ‘I guess’ me IT’S DECEMBER.”

At the respectable hour of seven in the morning, Tooru and Emiko boarded the train to go to the doctor's office. Both of them had bags around their eyes, and Emiko was still coughing.  
“Am I going back to school today?”  
“No, sweetie. You’re sick. You could get Eiji and your friends sick too if you go to school.”  
“Will you get sick?”  
“No, I don’t think so.”  
“Why?”  
“Special Daddy juice.”  
“Does Iwa-chan have special...Iwa-chan juice?”  
“...Yes. It’s in his gross protein shakes.”  
“Eeewww.”  
“You’re your Daddy's girl, Emi.”

“Well,” The doctor said, examining his notepad. “Emiko has tested positive for influenza. I’m gonna put her on some simple over-the-counter medicine. Just makes sure she gets lots of rest and fluids.”  
“Aw, hear that, sweetie?” Tooru said quickly to Emi, before taking the prescription from the doctor. Emi tensed up, and sniffed a little harder than usual.  
“Would you like a lollipop?” The doctor asked, exchanging quick and curt eye contact with Tooru, who nodded, and looked at Emi, who visibly brightened.  
“Please, Daddy?”  
“Oh, only because you’re sick,” Tooru jested, chuckling as she ran to the bowl. He knew damn well she was getting that lollipop to put off the breakdown that she would no doubt have later in the day, and he both cursed and thanked the Doctor for it.

Three days later, Emiko was bubbling happily to Eiji, Sawamura, and Sugawara about her previous illness at a play-date-slash-dinner-slash-an excuse to drink alcohol with other functioning adults.  
“And then I threw up!” Emi said to Sugawara, who was picking up a piece of chicken.  
“Threw up!” Eiji parroted, smacking the table.  
“Kiddo, we don’t say that at the dinner table,” Hajime said, trying not to snicker as Daichi put his chopsticks down in favor of keeping his own stomach solid.  
“He’s right,” Tooru said a little more sternly. “We are polite at the table.” Emi frowned under Tooru’s gaze.  
“‘M Sorry,” She mumbled. Tooru’s eyes softened. “You’re okay, just don’t do it again.”  
“Tooru, you don’t need to have such a stick up your a...uh, A-S-S all the time,” Hajime said, patting Emi on the head.  
“I don’t have a stick up my A-S-S!” Tooru protested.  
“Oh yeah, sorry, it’s because nothing’s been up your A-S-S properly in a couple of months,” Sugawara added, causing Daichi to narrow his eyes.  
"Okay, Pastor Sawamura, four year olds would not have gotten my reference even if they knew how to spell."  
“That’s not funny,” Tooru said, smiling despite himself.  
“It’s kind of funny,” Hajime amended.


	5. The Beginning of an Era

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooru and Emiko look into dance classes at Tokyo Dance Studio (TDS.)

Oikawa Tooru was, surprise surprise, in the car with his daughter in the booster seat directly behind him. It was after school, and Tooru was driving to “Tokyo Dance Studio,” to talk to the head dance instructor, Ennoshita Chikara.  
“Where are we going?”  
“Do you remember when you said you wanted to dance?”  
“Yeah! Like in Leap!”  
“Well, we are going to talk to one of the best dance instructors in Tokyo, so we can figure out if you want to start lessons.”  
“Really?!”  
“Really. But you have to want it, okay? It’s going to take a lot of practice and hard work.”  
“Yes!”  
Oikawa looked at her right in the eye using the rearview mirror. “Are you sure?”  
“Yeah…”  
“Okay then! We’re almost there!”

Walking into Director Ennoshita Chikara’s office, Tooru felt like a high schooler in trouble with the Dean again as he was looked up and down along with his kid. Ennoshita stuck his hand out to Tooru, and he shook it.  
“Ennoshita Chikara.”  
“Oikawa Tooru. And this is my daughter, Emiko.”  
“Hi!” Emi said cheerfully, unaffected by Ennoshita’s intimidating gaze. Ennoshita stared down at her.   
“Hello, Emiko, it's nice to meet you. You and your dad can sit down.”   
Tooru situated Emiko in the corner, and finally sat down in the chair.   
“So, how old is Emiko?”  
“She’s five. She just has a passion for dance.”   
“Mm, that’s good to hear. Any major health issues?”  
“Not that we know of.”  
“Good, good. I think you know that TDS takes their students very seriously, and in turn provides pretty rigorous lessons. I highly suggest that if you’re looking for a simple hobby for Emiko, you find another dance company.”  
“Thank you, Ennoshita-san, for your honesty, but I have done my research on this dance company, and I know what Emiko and I are getting into with this. I’m actually a professional athlete myself, so I know what commitment means for a sport. I also knew from the get-go that it's important to start dancing young.”  
“That’s true,” Ennoshita said. “A few more years and she probably would have been a little too old to be a beginner here.”  
“That’s a relief.”  
“I have a beginners team that seems like it would be pretty good for Emiko. I’m actually the main instructor for that team, so I can guarantee progress will be made, but if she needs a little more instruction or actually is good enough to move up, that can be easily arranged as well. Now, let’s discuss fees.”

Tooru walked out of TDS about 500 dollars poorer, and very pleased with himself.  
“You’re going to start dancing very soon, sweetie.”  
“Mr. Ennoshita-san is nice,” She pointed out. “Where are we going?”

“So for classes, she’ll need a black leotard, tap shoes, ballet shoes, an optional ballet skirt, and pink tights. Also, her hair must be up in some way shape or form. A ballet bun is preferred, but I understand if her hair is a little short for that. The other dance parents know the drill, they can help you.”

“We’re going to blow my wallet on your dance equipment. But first, we should call Iwa-chan.”  
“Is he gonna be mad?”  
“Why would he be mad?” Tooru asked.   
“...that you’re blowing your wallet?”  
Tooru snickered. “Well, I talked to him, and he’s okay with it.”  
“Okay then! Let’s go!”  
“Hold your horses, sweetie. We still have to call him.” He took out his phone, and dialed the number he knew by heart.   
“How’d it go?”  
“Well, she’s now on a team, but we have to go get her actual dance equipment.” There was a sigh on the other line.  
“There goes all our free time.”  
“It’s gonna be great!”  
“Can I talk to him?” Emiko asked, clutching Tooru’s pant leg.  
“Oh yeah. Here’s the prima ballerina herself!”  
“Hey, Kiddo! Are you going to get dance clothes!”  
“Yeah! Why are you not mad?”  
“Why would I be mad?”  
“Because Daddy said he was...blowing his wallet?”  
“Oh,” There was laughter on the other line. “Well, we’re gonna have to be a little more careful, but for the most part, I’m just excited. You’re gonna be so good!”  
“Yeah!”  
“Well, when do you start?”  
“Tomorrow!”  
“...put Daddy on the phone for a second, please. I’ll talk to you later!”  
“Bye! Here ya go, Daddy. Iwa-chan wants to talk to you.”  
“Okay, sweetie. You can go ahead and wait in the car.” Tooru waited until Emi had herself situated in the car.  
“She does not start tomorrow. She starts next Monday.”  
“Oh, thank God.”  
“Well, right now I think we’re going to head to Target to find leotards...I have no idea how to do this.”  
“Alright. I’ll see you later. Bye.”  
“Bye.” Tooru heard Hajime hang up the phone, and stepped into the car.   
“So! We’ll go to Target first, then we’ll get your ballet and tap shoes, and lastly we’ll get a hair donut and bobby pins so we can put your hair up.”

The Monday morning dance lessons were to start, Emiko was sitting at the table, Tooru right behind her with a hairbrush, bobby pins, a hair net (which he had to go back out for, joy) and the dreaded hair donut. He had a tutorial pulled up, and was listening to a southern lady drawl about how to execute the perfect ballet bun. Hajime was in the shower, with a wish of good luck for Tooru. It was going quite contrary to Tooru’s hopes, and the rats nest growing on Emi’s head would be unmanageable in minutes if he kept it up. He gently brushed the knot out.  
“Maybe you can go in a ponytail. Ennoshita-san said hair ‘up’ not in a bun!” When Emiko pouted, Tooru sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I didn’t think that it would be this hard. Felicie had her hair in a ponytail!”  
“...okay.”  
“Lets just get to Sugawara and Eiji’s house. We might be late, and we don’t want to keep them waiting. Sugawara, bless his heart, he’s taking you to dance, okay?”  
“Why can’t you take me?”  
“You know I have work, sweetie.”   
“Aw.”  
“Now, come on, we’ll be late. HAJIME HURRY UP!”  
“OKAY!”  
He took Emi’s hand, grabbed her backpack, and set off down the street to Sugawara’s. They approached the door, where Sugawara and Eiji were sitting. Oikawa squatted to get on eye level with Emi.  
“Make sure to make new friends and have fun at dance, okay?”  
“Okay!”  
“Thank you so much, Sugawara. I promise that this is only temporary.”  
“It’s no trouble! Eiji has karate right near there anyways so it’s not any extra driving.”  
“Alright then. Bye, Emi! Don’t talk to strangers or pick up anything on the street! I love you!”  
“Bye!!”  
Tooru took one look at his watch and took off down the road. At this point he’d be late to warm up, anyways. He reached his house, and noticed Hajime in the car already, so he didn’t bother going into the house.

When Tooru opened the doors to Tokyo Dance Studio, he was extremely surprised to see Emi running up to him in a perfect ballet bun that looked like it was gripping her head and eating her alive.   
“Hi, Sweetie, how was dance?”  
“It was fun! I made two new friends named Aoma and Yuuka!”  
“Amazing, Emi! You’re just like your Daddy. And who did your bun?”  
“Aoma’s Dad knows how to do it!”  
“Is he still here? And did you say, ‘thank-you?”  
“Yes! And yes!”  
“Can you show me him so I can say thanks as well?”  
“Yeah!” Emi grabbed his arm, and ran across the hall into the room labeled ‘Studio A’, and into an upper watching area, where a young girl in a similar bun was stretching next to a man who looked about his age. He was observing the girl stretch very closely, and Tooru would have thought he hadn’t seen him until he spoke.  
“Can I help you?”  
“Oh, hello. Oikawa Tooru. I’m Emiko’s Dad.”   
“I figured. You look just like her. I’m Kageyama Tobio, and this is Aoma, my daughter.” The child looked up from the stretch she was holding to be met with her father’s expectant gaze.  
“...Hello, Oikawa-san.”  
“Hello there! I just wanted to say thank you for Emi’s hair! This is our first practice,” Oikawa explained, a little embarrassed.   
“You’re welcome, it just takes a bit of getting used to.” Kageyama replied. “Quick word to the wise, though. When Ennoshita-san says something is suggested or recommended, he means do it, so I didn’t want her to get an earful on her first day. When Aoma practically dragged her to me, I really couldn’t say no.”  
“Well, it was much appreciated.” Kageyama looked up to Tooru, and offered him a smile that looked extremely forced. Well, he’s not very versed in the art of meeting people, Tooru thought before extending his hand for him to shake.”  
“Emiko and Aoma seem to be getting along pretty well, so I think we’ll be seeing more of each other in the future.”  
“Oh, absolutely.”  
“Well, we best be on our way. Come on, Ao, we need to go get food.”  
“...Okay.” Aoma replied, and waved at Emiko. “Bye bye, Emiko.”  
“Bye!” Emiko exclaimed, and then tugged on Tooru’s pant leg. “Come on, Daddy, let’s go!” As soon as Aoma and Kageyama were out of earshot, Tooru laughed.  
“We Oikawas have quite a history of making friends with grumpy people.”  
“Really? Who?”  
“Iwa-chan.”  
“Iwa-chan is not grumpy!”  
“Mm. I don’t know about that one.”  
“He is not!”  
“Well. Agree to disagree.”  
“What’s that mean?”  
“It means that we agree we both have different opinions and move forward in a genuine civilized manner.”  
“Oh. Ok. Well, I’m still right.”


	6. Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emiko turns six!

“Yes, Hajime, you are at the right place. It’s under-yes. Oh my god. Why wouldn’t I put it under Oikawa? Yes yes, poor you, now get back here! Okay...bye.” Tooru hung up the phone and rubbed his temple. He and Sugawara had been in their local park for around thirty minutes setting up pink streamers, balloons, and a big tablecloth with pink plates with ballet shoes on them. Sugawara chuckled, and Tooru sighed.  
“I didn’t realize it was that hard to pick up pizza and a cake.” Tooru said, deflated. “Then again, it is Hajime, so I should have known.”  
“You shouldn’t be so hard on him. Throwing a birthday party for a six-year-old is no easy feat.”  
“Yeah, well. This is the first year she’s had friends besides Eiji.” Tooru shuddered. He was enthusiastic about his Emi-girl growing up and being sociable until they all came together in one mass playdate that was a birthday party. “And they’ll be here any second.”  
“Oh boy,” Sugawara said, grinning. “Should I be scared of these dance dads?”  
“Hmm,” Tooru said, equally as mischievously. “Would you like the good and honest run-down?”   
“You know I would like nothing more.”  
Tooru sighed happily. He didn’t get to gossip often, and it was a guilty pleasure of his. “First off, there’s Kageyama Tobio and his little daughter Aoma. Kageyama is really pretentious and blunt, and he won’t take his eyes off of Aoma for over thirty seconds, but he also looks out for the other kids, which is good. Aoma is just this tiny, compact, ball of muscles which is kind of weird because she just doesn’t have much baby fat. She’s also pretty quiet, and has maybe spoken a total of twenty words to me ever. She has a soft spot for Emi, though, which is adorable.”  
“Is Kageyama single?”  
Tooru nodded his head. “He has an ex-wife who he had Aoma with. Some shit went down that I don’t know about, but she’s out of the picture and she’s not coming back in. And then he started dating men…? I don’t know. I have bits and pieces.”  
“How the tables have turned.”  
“Indeed. Next is Kozume Kenma and Kuroo Yuuka. Kozume is the CEO of a small company, and does most of his work virtually which explains the dance money.”  
“Kuroo?”  
“Oh you will not believe this. Kozume and a man named Kuroo Tetsurou moved out of the country for like a year to get married, and came back to Japan. Then, they were able to adopt Yuuka. After like two years of being married, they moved away again to get divorced and had a custody battle because they just couldn’t stand each other. So, as it stands, Kozume and Kuroo split custody 60-40.”  
“God, that sounds like a nightmare.”  
“Right? Yuuka doesn’t look like Kozume or Kuroo. She’s blonde, and taller than Eiji, which from what I’ve learned is rare in dance.”  
“Well, that’s not saying much. He’ll get a growth spurt sooner or later.”  
“And lastly, there’s Tsukishima Kei, Yamaguchi Tadashi, and their two girls Mitzi and Natsuki.”  
“Mitzi. That’s a new one. Is she Polish?”  
“They adopted her from Germany. She’s six like the rest of them, and Natsuki is just a baby. Albeit a very cute one.”  
“So just a normal family then.”  
“Ehhh-”  
“Oh my God.”  
“Tsukishima Kei is really quiet and defensive, but he’s different from Kageyama because he gives Mitzi free reign. He’s like the alpha male over Tadashi, and doesn’t show up, like, ever. I’ve met him like once. It’s always Tadashi and little Natsuki there. I don’t even know what he does.”  
Tooru squinted and looked across the field, seeing Daichi carrying Eiji, and letting Emiko grab his hand. “There they are!” Tooru waited a good five seconds before Emi saw the pink streamers and started barreling towards them to start waving. Eiji came trailing behind her, screaming just as loud.  
“Daddy! It’s all pink!” Emi squealed. She was wearing a light pink dress, and her hair was braided down her back.   
“Well, anything for the birthday girl!” Tooru exclaimed with matched enthusiasm. “All your friends are coming any minute now, besides Eiji of course.” The shorter boy held out a light blue bag with yellow dots on it. “Where should I put it? It’s for Emi.”  
“You can give that to me,” Tooru smiled, holding out his hand. Eiji gave it to Tooru and immediately went over to Emi to try to jump and take down the streamers.   
Kageyama and Aoma showed up next, in all their quiet glory. Tooru never thought he would see such a pristine six year old in all of his life, but here he was, looking down at Aoma in a navy blue skirt and blazer, with a white shirt underneath, long black hair pulled into the same bun that she always wore in class, gift bag in hand. She looked like a flight attendant at a press conference.  
“This is for Emi.”  
“Why, thank you. She’s over there with that little boy, his name is Eiji, and his parents, Sugawara and Sawamura-san.” Aoma quickly bowed to Tooru, and turned around to look at her Dad.  
“May I take my coat off?”  
“Sure.”  
“I’ll be over there with Emi and Eiji-kun.”  
“Alright. Have fun.”  
Tooru had to keep in a laugh as Aoma walked towards a stunned Sugawara as Eiji almost ate a leaf.  
Yuuka and Kozume came next. On Kozume’s back was a bright pink backpack. Handing it to Yuuka, she dug through it and took out a pink card, handing it to Tooru.  
“It’s a gift-card! Father and I thought that it would be the best bet.”  
“Well, thank you so much. I’m sure Emi will spend it on something very nice. She’s right over there with Aoma and Emi’s friend Eiji.”  
“Thank you, Oikawa!”  
Kozume’s head snapped up from the bag. “Oikawa what?”  
“Oikawa-san!” She corrected quickly. “Sorry!”  
“You’re okay,” Tooru said, still smiling as she took off. He turned around. “Want me to take that bag off your hands?”  
“Oh, it’s fine,” Kozume said. “Kuroo is picking her up after the party, so I can just lug around this hideous thing until then.”  
“Weren’t the Tsukishimas coming?” Kageyama asked, keeping Aoma in his peripherals.  
“Mitzi is, but Kei and Tadashi can’t make it,” Tooru shrugged.   
Kageyama tapped his fingers on the table. “They just turn her loose to the responsibility of anyone. Like, I understand leaving her at dance for a little bit, but dropping her off at a public park?”  
“Mm.” Kozume agreed. “I mean, I know Yuuka knows not to go charging into the street, but it seems a little…”  
“Oh! There she is!” Tooru said, trying to wave down the mousy brown haired girl who was looking in all directions. “Mitzi! We’re over here!” She finally saw the group, and began walking over.  
“Thanks for having me,” She said, handing Tooru a small pink box before walking off to join the group, who were now engaged in a game of duck duck goose.  
“Suga! Daichi!” Tooru called. “You don’t have to-get over here! You’re making us feel bad!”   
Daichi and Suga stood up from the game, and walked over to the table, where Kozume and Kageyama were looking over at them with bemusement.  
“Okay, whoever Aoma’s dad is,” Daichi wheezed. “She does a great job of keeping everyone in line.” Tooru pointed at Kageyama, who was snickering behind his hand.   
“She’s always had a zero tolerance policy for bullshit. What did she do this time?”  
“She politely told my son that eating grass was disgusting and that he should stop immediately unless he wanted a disease. And the crazy thing was he actually put the grass down.”  
“Okay,” Tooru said. “I have to go yell at my spouse now-oh, there he is. Please hold!” Tooru ran across the field to grab the cake that was balanced on top of the two pizza boxes.  
“This is the right cake?” Tooru asked, inspecting the white box with pink details.  
“Don’t ask me that,” Hajime replied breathlessly. “Traffic is fucking crazy. Is everyone here?”  
“Well...Mitzi, Yuuka, Aoma, Eiji...yeah I think so.”  
“Okay. So we can do pizza now?”  
“Yeah.”

Tooru walked with Hajime back to the table, and put down the food. “Everyone, if you want some pizza, come and get it!”  
“Okay!” Emi yelled from far away, making Kozume laugh a little.   
“It’s crazy how purely energetic she is.”  
“Well, it is her birthday,” Kageyama replied. “An excited child is a happy one.”  
“I meant in general, Kageyama,” Kozume shot back, without missing a beat as he handed Yuuka a paper plate.  
“Well, I guess that is true, especially compared to Little Miss Aoma,” Kageyama said, looking down at the child that was now standing in front of him, arms crossed, trademark Kageyama scowl etched across her face. “What did I say about being fresh, Ao?”  
“I’m not being fresh,” she insisted. “You’re the one being fresh, because you’re talking about me.”  
“Grown-ups can’t be fresh,” Kageyama stated matter-of-factly. “It’s the truth, you and Emi have very different personalities. Now if I were you, I would watch your tone.” Aoma huffed out an apology, and walked over to where Hajime was handing out pieces of pizza.  
“She’s exactly like you,” Kozume pointed out. “Frown and all. The only difference is that you’re a grown ass man.” Kageyama narrowed his eyes, and nodded. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”  
“I wasn’t saying it was. You’re two of a kind.” Kageyama nodded, picked up a juice box for Aoma, and got down to her level. “You can have one juice box, but you’re also having cake, so only water after that.” Aoma nodded with a look sincere enough that someone might have assumed she would guard the juice box for the rest of her life. Tooru snickered.  
“Hey! That goes for you too, Emi-girl.”  
“Yuuka, you too.”  
“Yeah Eiji, that’s a good idea. We don’t want you bouncing off the walls.”  
Tooru put a hand up to all the children now complaining. “Never fear, cake is here! Oh, that rhymed, look at me!”  
“Good job, Oikawa,” Sugawara said light enough that it almost wasn’t sarcastic.  
Hajime brought out the cake, and on it was pink icing, Happy Birthday, Emi in purple lettering. Tooru took out his phone and pressed record.   
“Alright everyone, on the count of three. One, two, three!”  
“Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear-”  
“Emiii”  
“Emiko oh-”  
“Emi”  
“Emiii-”  
“Happy Birthday to you!” Emi blew out the dripping candle, and handed it to Aoma, who handed it to Eiji with a firm warning not to put it in his mouth.  
“Here, Eij,” Sugawara said, taking the candle and handing it to Daichi with a giggle.  
“What am I supposed to do with this.”  
“I don’t know-”  
“Who wants cake?”  
After Hajime made sure everyone had a piece, he exhaled. “Everyone happy?”  
“Yes!”  
“Oh God, here comes the bane of my existence,” Kozume said, squinting across the field to see a tall man with messy, black hair walking towards the table. “Yuuka, your Dad’s here, so please say your goodbyes.” Yuuka’s head swiveled around to see Kuroo about five feet away from the table, and jumped up.   
“Dad! Why are you here-OH!” Yuuka exclaimed.  
“Hey, punk!” Kuroo said, sticking his arms out. Yuuka ran to hug him, and Tooru didn’t miss Kuroo’s teasing glimmer in his eye and Kozume’s malicious daggers that lasted for but seconds while Yuuka was being hugged. “Did you say bye to your friends?” Yuuka turned around, and almost robotically fired off her thank you’s and goodbyes.  
“Bye, Aoma! Bye Mitzi! Bye Eiji! Bye Emi! Happy Birthday! Thank you Oikawa and Iwaizumi-san!”  
“Bye!” They all chimed as Kuroo picked up Yuuka’s bag. “Kenma! 5 o’clock next Tuesday, right?”  
“We can’t do that, she has dance,” Kozume said through his teeth. “We’ll talk later.”  
“Jesus, okay, fine.” Kozume rolled his eyes and stretched out his arms to Yuuka. “Do I not get a goodbye before you have to go with your dumb dad?” Yuuka giggled and ran to Kozume, giving him a hug and a pat on the back before scampering off to Kuroo, who was motioning to her to leave.  
“Bye guys!”  
Tooru felt his throat tighten as he watched the smile on Kozume’s face slowly disappear as Yuuka hopped into the shotgun seat of Kuroo’s car. Aoma, Mitzi, Eiji, and Emi had gone back to playing hide-and-seek, so it was just the parents sitting at the table.  
“God, I’m so glad I don’t have to do that,” Kageyama said bluntly. Iwaizumi almost spat out his alcohol, and Daichi whacked him on the back.  
“Well shit!” Tooru exclaimed, eyes wide. “The hell is wrong with you-”  
Kozume shook his head before chaos ensued. “No, I’m glad too. At least Kuroo has half a brain cell, as much as I loathe to admit it.” Tooru was the dictionary definition of confused, but when he realized no one was saying anything about it, he changed the subject.  
“So Kozume, tell us about your new boyfriend.”  
Kozume almost got whiplash from how quickly he looked to see that Yuuka was out of earshot. Once he saw Yuuka hiding from Aoma in a faraway bush, he started speaking.  
“Well, Yuuka doesn’t know about him yet, but his name is Hinata Shoyo, and he’s just...He’s good with kids, he’s optimistic, active, and I think we’re starting to get serious.”  
“Maybe you’ll stay together this time,” Tooru said amusedly.  
“You know what, Tooru, maybe we will,” Kozume said, half sarcastic. “I actually think I’m gonna tell her this week. But it’s nerve-wracking because she’s always been the ‘are you and Dad getting back together’ type of kid.”  
“I’m nervous about that too,” Kageyama said. “I had a boyfriend for a little bit when Aoma was around two years old, in hopes of normalizing it for her. Turns out he was kind of a biphobe and he left. I just haven’t found anyone yet.”  
Tooru and Hajime shared a look. They had met in high school, and never looked back. Neither of them could even fathom looking for a date at their age.  
Sugawara looked over across the grass. “Uh, who’s the blonde guy? Is that Tsukishima?” Judging by the groan Kageyama emitted when he heard his name and the look Kozume and Oikawa shared, he used his best judgement to confirm.  
“Hello Tsukishima!” Tooru said brightly, turning around.  
“Uh, hi. Thanks for having Mitzi.”  
“Anytime! She’s always welcome,” Tooru replied. “Do you want any pizza or alcohol?”  
“Sorry, not today. Busy day at work. Mitzi! Say goodbye to your friends.”  
“It always seems to be a busy day at work with you, Tsukishima,” Kageyama commented nonchalantly. “Especially since it’s Sunday.”  
“Oh, I’m sorry, not everyone has lawsuit money,” He returned, equally as cool.  
“Excuse me?”  
“Oh, don’t act so surprised. Everyone knows you’re pocketing your child support for what? Dance? Tch. Shouldn’t you be making sure no one goes hungry?” Momentarily, all the emotion left Kageyama’s face. All Tooru could make out was the quick, sharp flash of pain that surged through Kageyama’s eyes.  
“Mm.”  
Mitzi ran up to the table, and nodded a hello to her dad. “Thank you for having me Oikawa-san, Iwaizumi-san.”  
“You are so welcome! Bye now,” Tooru said before they walked off.  
Sugawara coughed. “So no one was gonna tell me y’all were petty?!”  
Hajime snorted, promptly earning a smack on the arm from Tooru. “Suga, we aren’t that petty-”  
“No, no,” Kageyama said. “All of us are guilty of pettiness to an extent.”  
“Damn straight,” Kenma said, taking a sip of beer that was too long for anyone at the table to trust. “This dance shit is intense. You have to have the ballet buns, the shoes, the skirts, the schedule, the makeup, oh god the makeup. I am a grown man and I know how to do a full face of makeup. The team hasn’t even started competition yet! I say we’ve all earned the right to be petty.”  
The rest of the party was spent in the dance parents talking about dance, (and stopping every once in a while to fill Daichi and Suga in) drinking cheap beer in princess cups, and giving the park a once over every couple of minutes to make sure that all three kids were still there.

After the party, Tooru and Hajime were sitting on the edge of Emi’s bed, listening to her rattle off about the happenings at the park.  
"Maybe you had a little too much sugar, Hon."  
“No I didn’t! And then Aoma caught Eiji’s foot in the middle of the air! It was very impressive of her, I thought."  
Tooru and Hajime exchanged a look. "I think so, too. But now it's really time for you to go to sleep, Kiddo." Hajime said.  
"But I have another story!"  
"You can tell us in the morning, you know," Tooru said, stretching and yawning. "Iwa-chan and I are very tired." Hajime nodded, and Emi huffed.  
"Okay, but don't let me forget."  
"We won't. We promise," Tooru said, shutting the light off. "Good night, Emi Girl."  
"Night Dad, night Iwa-chan."


	7. Some Serious Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emi and the dance team get ready for a recital.

“Hey, Iwa-chan,” Emi called from down the hall. “Have you seen my hairspray anywhere?”  
Hajime sighed from his spot on the couch, looking at the bright blue bottle in front of him.  
“Either you or Dad left it on the coffee table.”   
The whole family had a late night tonight, since Tooru and Hajime had a late scheduled practice, and Emi had a dress rehearsal for a dance recital. Emi came running out, grabbed the hairspray, and sprayed enough into her hair to last one week.  
“Emiko,” Hajime coughed. “I’m gonna smell like your dance team-”   
“There is no way you could ever smell as good as Aoma,” She replied quickly before running back to her room.   
“Emi-girl,” Tooru said, emerging from his and Hajime’s room in his sweats, carrying a piece of paper. “Shall we go down the list?”  
“Okay.”  
“You’re doing one solo and one with the group-”  
“Duh.”  
“Pardon?” Oikawa asked, raising an eyebrow. Emi quickly recoiled.  
“Sorry.”  
“Ballet shoes?”  
“Check.”  
“Jazz shoes?”  
“Check.”  
“Extra tights, bobby pins, and hair ties?”  
“Check, check, uh…” Tooru reached into his pocket and flicked a brown hair tie at her stomach.   
“These things are everywhere. Don’t ‘uh’ me. Both leos and makeup for said leos?”  
“Yes, I got those first.”  
“Good. Knowing Aoma and Kageyama, they should be here at least half an hour early-” Tooru was cut off by the honking of a horn outside. “How are they always so ridiculously punctual-okay. Bye Emi! If you need help with makeup just ask Kageyama or Kozume. Not Yamaguchi, though. He doesn’t know how to do that stuff-”  
“Bye, Kiddo! Kick some butt, okay?”  
Emi opened the door and looked behind her. “I thought in this family we aimed for the neck, but okay.”  
She shut the door behind her leaving Tooru and Hajime with their mouths gaping wide open.   
“She acts like we're a family of assassins.”   
“Mhm,” Tooru affirmed, eyes drifting towards the wall. Hajime crossed his arms.   
“What is it?”  
“Nothing I just… I was just thinking.”  
“Yeah?”  
After a long sigh, he brushed his finger against the Japanese flag embroidered on his sweater. “I’m getting a little old for this, Iwa-chan. And dance is going to get more expensive when she starts competition next year. I’m not sure ‘starting setter’ is going to cut it.”  
Hajime swallowed. He knew this had been coming for a while now, but, why now? He looked up again and Tooru’s eyes were glassy.  
“And as much as I’ve tried and tried to preserve my knee, it won’t-it won’t ever fully recover,” he said, voice shaking.  
“Tooru,” He whispered, not wanting to be in the same state as his partner. Volleyball was their first love before they realized that they were indeed meant for each other. Volleyball was there when Tooru came out. It was there when he got hurt. It was there for Hajime when he was angry, hurt, sad. It was a vessel for their joy and pain and passion, sailing across a sea of doubt.   
Before Hajime could realize what was happening, he was being pulled into an embrace by Tooru, tears streaming down both of their faces. They stayed like that for a minute before Tooru pulled back.  
“Now...we have faces to wash, Hajime! We’re gonna be late!”

Tooru had no idea why or even how Yuuka, Mitzi, Aoma, little Natsuki, and their corresponding parent(s) wound up at his house the day of the recital, but he knew one thing: dance meant that apparently he had to give up all his assets and his sanity on top of that.  
He had been told by Ennoshita that it was his turn to give his house up for hair and makeup in honor of the team, as TDS tradition dictated. AKA “Just a suggestion, the dance parents normally take turns with hair and makeup, but it is optional and we can just have someone go twice.”  
So he, Hajime, and Emi lugged the couch and the carpet to the back of their tiny rowhouse, and set out the long dinner table in their living room so the girls would have space to work. Aoma and Kageyama came first, then Yuuka and Hinata, then Yamaguchi, Natsuki, and Mitzi.   
“Kozume will be here in a little bit,” Hinata explained. “Huge press conference.” Yuuka nodded solemnly from the table where she was taking out her makeup. “He went to sleep at like, 8:30 last night. Shoyo had to put me to bed! Crazy head.”  
Kageyama chuckled from behind Aoma’s head, which was in the middle of being decorated with elaborate braids weaving up into the fanciest ballet bun Tooru had seen yet. Great. He could barely pull the normal one into Emi’s hair for practice. “Yuuka, I’ll do your hair next, so go get your group leotard on.” Yuuka winced.  
“No offense Kageyama-san, but when you do hair, it hurts.”  
“You get used to it after a while,” Aoma said wisely, earning a small pat on the shoulder from her father.   
“My policy is, “The more it hurts, the better it looks” Kageyama replied.  
“Please tell that to Emiko,” Hajime said from the kitchen. “She only lets Tooru do it because the way I do it hurts.”  
“It does!” Emi squawked, eyeing Kageyama and figuring out her fate. “Hair is a gentle thing that should not be messed with!”  
“You sound a bit like Tooru when you say that,” Yamaguchi laughed, Mitzi nodding.  
“You really do.”  
Tooru shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve been there her entire life or anything.”  
There was a knock on the door, and Hajime went to answer it. There stood Kozume, looking very disheveled, dance bag in hand.   
“Hello, Iwaizumi.”  
“Hey, come on in.”  
“Do you have coffee by any chance? Or gasoline, I don’t care. I just need to be a functioning adult again.”  
“I hear ya,” Hajime replied. “Anyone else want coffee?” When all four adults raised their hands, Hajime nodded appreciatively and got to work.  
When every strand of hair was pulled into place and sprayed down by Kageyama, makeup perfected by Kozume, and bags organized by Yamaguchi, Tooru twirled the car keys into his hand. “Kids need to be there at 4:30, adults are allowed at 6. This is why we have a flippin minivan.”  
The kids formed a single file line, and on the way out, Aoma’s foot hit the door frame, and the most noncommittal “Shit” was emitted.  
Everyone froze, and Kageyama slowly looked up.  
“Come again?”  
“You said it was okay when I stubbed my toe,” Aoma shrugged. “And I stubbed my toe.”  
Kageyama put one hand over his mouth to cover a smile. “Only when it’s just you and me, Ao.”  
“Oh...sorry.”  
“It’s fine, just don’t do it again.”  
“Okay.”   
Tooru squinted, nodded, and continued ushering the girls out the door. When it finally swung shut, they all sighed.   
“Oh shit. I guess Natsuki will just have to sit on Mitzi’s lap.”  
“We have a carseat,” Hajime said, laughing. He didn’t know these parents just as well as Tooru, but he still appreciated their efforts and relatability.   
“Oh, okay,” Yamaguchi said, relaxing a bit. “I just get worried, is all. Leaving her alone for a couple of hours is kind of nerve-wracking to me. Of course, Kei doesn’t really give a shit-or, he’s not as worried,” He clarified. “I know that the instructors are well qualified and all but-”  
“I totally agree,” Kageyama said, zipping up Aoma’s makeup bag. “It’s also part of the reason I stay and watch most of the practices. The dance industry does have it’s horror stories.”  
“Yeah,” Yamaguchi sighed. “That.”  
“I still don’t really know a ton, but yeesh, you guys are almost as committed as the kids,” Hinata added. Turning to Kozume, he asked, “Where’s Kuroo?”  
“Why do you want to know so bad?”  
“Well-no-more like...does he do this stuff too?” Kozume rolled his eyes. “No. I do it all myself because he doesn’t know anything and has no inclination to learn about the place Yuuka spends half her time in. Oh, you’re probably gonna meet him today, though.”  
Hajime grimaced. He had met Kuroo before on a couple of separate occasions, and although their interactions never extended to much more than an awkward handshake across the table, he knew that he was not well-liked across the dance parents. Makes sense though, he thought. If that’s who Kozume went and divorced, then he must be kind of a jerk.  
“Well, from what you’ve told me about him, I thought I was going to be meeting him in hell,” Hinata joked.   
“You do make him sound like a basket case,” Kageyama added.   
“Is this even your conversation, Kageyama?”  
“Honestly, Yamaguchi? I’m not a kid.”  
Kozume nodded, taking a coffee cup from Hajime and taking a long sip. “I have no qualms about you shit-talking my ex. PHEW this stuff is strong, Iwaizumi-san. Thank you.”  
“Coffee is only good when you feel it burning your insides,” Hajime quipped. “I still don’t know why I ‘signed a partnership paper’ with a man who uses so much cream. It's insane.”  
“Those partnership papers are a slap in the face,” Kozume said, cringing. “Loathe him or not, I don’t regret my young dumb self moving out of the country with Tetsurou to get married one bit.” Yamaguchi shrugged.  
“I signed one with Kei so it would be easier on taxes and housing, but I’m not even Mitzi or Natsuki’s legal guardian. It scares the living shit out of me because if we break up, then he just...takes the kids.”  
“I think about that every single day,” Hajime replied. “We had Emi through a surrogate, and Tooru is her biological father, so even though I’m Tooru’s certified ‘partner,’ I’m not her legal guardian.”  
“That’s bullshit,” Kageyama said, wiping down the table, which was covered in powdered makeup and goldfish crumbs. “You guys are both in happy stable relationships and have to step around eggshells to have a family. The fact that I was able to get married, have a kid, and get divorced in like five years speaks volumes.”  
The door opened, and in came Tooru, who surveyed the serious and pained faces. “It’s called gay rights because I’m gay and I’m always right. End of conversation.”  
“And I’m the Queen of England,” Hajime proclaimed.  
“End of conversation,” Kozume snickered.  
“You guys are the worst. We should head over in a little bit,” Tooru said, looking at the clock. “Ennoshita has them working on overdrive. Except for, like, Natsuki.”  
“I’ve learned that three year olds in dance do whatever they damn well please,” Yamaguchi said. “It’s not like they can do choreography. They just twirl around. It’s kinda cute.”  
“I remember those days,” Kageyama said, shaking his head. “Aoma never really threw tantrums, but god, when she did…”  
“Emi started when she was five,” Tooru said. “Kageyama knows.”  
“Oh yeah. Back when I had to teach you how to do a bun.”  
“Now that was one of the most humiliating things I’ve ever had to do by far.”


	8. Amusement Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emiko, Hajime, Aoma, and Kageyama all head to the amusement park!
> 
> TW: Heavy mentions of child neglect.

Hajime shivered from the vigorous air conditioner as he walked through the doors of TDS. He was thankful for the cool air, because outside it was nearing 90 degrees, and Hajime did not do well with heat. At all. Turning the corner and walking into the watching area labeled “Studio A,” He was immediately attacked by a very sweaty and cold eight-year-old dancer. One he looked down and confirmed this dancer was indeed his daughter, he hugged her back.  
“Hi, Kiddo!”  
“Hi...can we go now?!” She exclaimed eagerly. Hajime sighed and made quick eye contact with Ennoshita.  
“I heard you guys and Aoma were headed to the Carnival.”  
Hajime snickered at Emi, who was jumping up and down around Aoma. “How did you figure it out?”  
“She was talking about it the whole lesson,” He said simply, looking down at Emiko. “Even at the barre when she wasn’t supposed to.” Emi turned red, and stopped jumping. Aoma patted her on the shoulder.  
“It’s okay, Emi. We all talk at the barre sometimes,” Aoma started. She turned around and noticed her father’s warning glance. “I mean, I don’t. But a lot of people do.” Hajime laughed at that, and Ennoshita stared down at the little girl amusedly.  
“Aoma,” Kageyama sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What am I gonna do with you?” Aoma stared at him for a good few seconds, and turned back around to Emi and Hajime.  
“Are we leaving soon?”  
“Whenever you guys are ready,” Hajime said. “Even though I don’t think Emi’s that excited to go-”  
“Uh, no one said that! Bye Ennoshita-san! Thank you!” When Aoma and Kageyama bowed to Ennoshita, he nodded. “You’re very welcome. Have fun.”

Sitting in the car with Emi, a ball of energy, for more than half an hour was a challenge nowadays. She used to just fall asleep, but Hajime determined that was highly unlikely with her friend in the car on the way to a carnival. Luckily, Aoma and Kageyama were some help. They always had been quiet, and Emi seemed to be settling down a bit.  
“Emi,” Aoma whispered. “What are you most excited for at the carnival?”  
“You don’t have to whisper,” Hajime added from the driver's seat.  
“I’m most excited for the ferris wheel,” She said confidently. Aoma’s eyes widened.  
“You aren’t scared?”  
When Emi shook her head, Aoma was even more surprised. “Well, I’m definitely not going on that.”  
“Aw! Why not?”  
“I’m scared of heights,” Aoma said, shivering. “One time my Dad took me on a roller coaster. It was so scary. I don’t know why he did that.”  
Hajime suppressed a laugh as Kageyama put his phone down. “I told you I was sorry.”  
“Uh huh. Do you know what my Dad is scared of?”  
“What?” Emi asked interestedly.  
“He’s scared of people finding out he has dating apps.” Hajime almost pulled over to the side of the road.  
“Aoma!” Kageyama snapped. “Do you think I wanted that told to Emiko and Iwaizumi-san?”  
“It’s true!”  
“I’m not laughing.”  
“Sorry.”  
Kageyama sighed, and Aoma took the sigh as reluctant forgiveness. Hajime saw her fiddling with her seatbelt, and the silence persisted for a few seconds.  
“Well...uh...do you know what Iwa-chan is scared of?” Emi added. Aoma picked her head up, and tilted her head in a silent question. “He’s scared of failure.”  
Hajime barked out a laugh, and he saw Kageyama’s mouth twitch. Aoma nodded gravely at Emi.  
Hajime let out a long sigh. “You know, I didn’t want to have to do this, but Emi is scared of the bug from The Princess and the Frog.”  
“I most certainly am NOT-”  
“You used to run away whenever he came on screen. Even though he had such a beautiful song.”  
“Yeah. About a star he thought was his true love. He was out of his mind!”  
Aoma’s eyebrow raised, a new habit she had picked up from either her father or Ennoshita. “Never disrespect Ray like that ever again.”  
Kageyama smiled. “Well, she’s entitled to her opinion.”  
“Her wrong opinion.”  
“Excuse me!!”  
They eventually made it to the Carnival, just as the sun was setting. Hajime breathed in the warm summer air as he stepped out of the car, and stretched. Emi and Aoma were jumping up and down in circles, and Kageyama was looking at them amusedly.  
When tickets had been purchased, Aoma and Emi ran off to go on the carousel, leaving Hajime and Kageyama. He tried to keep his mouth shut. He really did.  
“Dating apps, huh?” Kageyama was firmly between scowling and laughing.  
“It’s just Grindr. And for the record, Aoma was not supposed to know about that until I actually found a boyfriend.”  
“You actually use it for dating?”  
“Of course,” Kageyama scoffed. “I’m not a one night stand kind of person. Especially when I spend every night with Aoma. It wouldn’t be fair to her.”  
“Huh. Well, good for you.”  
“I actually did find someone, like, just the other week.”  
“That’s great. Did you ever meet him in person?”  
“I did. We’ve been messaging every day, and to be honest I haven’t felt like this in a long time. Not since…” Kageyama sighed. “Not since my ex.” Hajime nodded, knowing that was a sore subject. “She’s in jail and will be until Aoma is out of college. She knows so little about her. I just hope she trusts my judgement.”  
“If you don’t mind my asking,” Hajime said carefully, “What...happened?”  
Kageyama closed his eyes, and Hajime panicked for half a second. “I’m so sorry, you don’t owe me an-”  
“I went on a business trip when Aoma was a baby. And I mean tiny. She was about...three months old.”  
“Oh.”  
“I was supposed to be back in five days, but all my work obligations ended two days early.” He swallowed. “I came back, and no one was in the house except for Aoma. She was screaming and screaming, she was covered in her own vomit, her diaper hadn’t been changed. The house was a mess and it smelled like alcohol and weed. Shattered dishes everywhere. And that’s when I realized that she hadn’t eaten in three days.”  
“Oh my God,” Hajime said, in total disbelief.  
“If,” Kageyama started shakily. “If I came back home on schedule, she would have died. It broke my heart watching her in the hospital connected to all those IV tubes.”  
Hajime’s mind flashed back to a memory he didn’t know he had.

_“Shouldn’t you be making sure no one goes hungry?” ___

__“And Tsukishima thinks it’s okay to joke about that?” Hajime asked, getting annoyed. Kageyama scowled. “I hate it so much. I’d never say anything if Tadashi did that to him.”  
“That’s vile. If i’d known, I would have-”  
“I know you would. And I appreciate that.” He looked down at his watch. They kept making small talk for another hour, as they watched Emi and Aoma wait in line to go on various attractions at the carnival. After a while, they came charging back, fresh out of tickets, Kageyama showed Aoma the time.  
“It’s getting pretty late.”  
“Yeah,” Hajime agreed. “One more ride, Emi-girl.”  
Emi surveyed the park again. “Aoma, are you sure you don’t want to go on the ferris wheel?”  
“I’m sure,” Aoma said quickly. “You can go if you want, though.”  
“I can come with you,” Hajime suggested. Emi thought for a second. “Okay. That could be fun.”  
Kageyama nodded. “Aoma and I can do one of the games while you go on the ferris wheel.”  
“Okay!” Emi replied. “Just don’t do the ring toss thing. It’s rigged.”  
“It’s all rigged,” Aoma pointed out. “See you in a couple of minutes.” With that, she grabbed her Dad’s hand. “The games are this way.”  
Hajime looked down at Emi. “You ready?”  
“Yup! Let’s go!”  
The line to the ferris wheel wasn’t too long, but Emi started squirming nonetheless. “99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of-”  
“Spare me please,” He said, cutting off her chant. “Once Dad and I went on a road trip, and he decided to start from 1,000 bottles of beer. I had to pull over to the side of the road.”  
“When was that?”  
“We were in college. Long before we even knew we were going to have you.” Hajime replied, smiling at the memory. It was a great trip, despite Tooru’s boredom in the car.  
“Oh, so like the Jurassic era!” Hajime opened his mouth, and closed it again, squinting at Emi, who was now giggling.  
“I’m 37, you jerk.”  
When they got to the front of the line, Emi took a deep breath. “Iwa-chan, are you nervous?”  
“No, I think it will be fun. Plus, there’s no way in heck we’ll fall.”  
“...Okay...you sure?”  
“I’m sure, Kiddo. When we get to the top, we’ll be able to see the whole carnival.”  
Once they got to the front of the line, they handed their tickets to the worker, and climbed into the cubicle.  
“And now we wait.”  
“Maybe we will be able to see Aoma and Kageyama-san.”  
“You probably could. I didn’t bring my glasses.”  
“Why don’t you just wear glasses all the time? Like Tsukishima-san?”  
“Because his vision is probably a lot worse than mine. I just need glasses to see things that are really far away. I’m near sighted.”  
“Oh, I see. It just came with your oldness.”  
“Emiko, you’re the worst.”  
“Sorry!” She squealed, laughing. “Oh! Look out the window!” Hajime looked away from his daughter, and sure enough, they had reached the top of the ferris wheel.  
“Hey. Sit in the corner with the carnival behind you. I’m gonna take a picture to send to Daddy.”  
“Okay,” Emi agreed. She scooted over, and smiled.  
“That’s cute, we should frame that.”_ _

__By the time Hajime pulled up to Kageyama’s house in the dark, Aoma and Emi were sound asleep, leaned up against each other. Kageyama carefully unbuckled Aoma, and took her dance bag that had been sitting in the car, waving a quick goodbye and thanking him for driving.  
Hajime sighed as Emi didn’t stir, and continued down the streets to their tiny rowhouse._ _


	9. Happy Anniversary, Old People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tooru and Hajime celebrate their 20th year together as a couple. Emi comes along for the ride.

Emi was happily chattering away to Yuuka in the waiting room of TDS. “Yeah, so today is my Dads’ twentieth anniversary.”  
Yuuka’s eyes almost bugged out of her head. “That is a long time...can't relate."  
Kozume shut his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Yuuka, for Christ's sake-"  
"Sorry," She said defensively.   
“Yeah, they’re like, 50,” Emi continued, looking back at Tooru, who gasped.  
“We are both 25, thank you very much.”  
“25 year olds don’t have gray hairs,” Emi replied sincerely. Yuuka giggled, and they turned back to their conversation.   
“Happy anniversary,” Kozume offered. “Are you guys doing anything tonight?”  
“Yeah. We’re going with Emi to a symphony type thing.”  
“It’s gonna be so boring,” Emi groaned. “Can’t I just go over to Eiji’s house or something and let you two be gross old men by yourselves?”  
“Eiji is grounded,” Tooru replied. “Remember how their window is broken?”  
“Oh yeah, I watched him do that and then get yelled at by Sawamura-san and Sugawara-san at the same time."  
“Exactly. It’s gonna be nice, though. We’ll get all dressed up and go and listen to nice music. Ask Ennoshita when you get to class. I bet he appreciates that kind of stuff.”  
“Ennoshita-san is like the most boring person alive,” Mitzi added. “No offense.”  
“Mitzi,” Yamaguchi warned. “That’s not nice.” Before Mitzi could retort, the door opened, and Ennoshita walked in.   
“Alright, everyone. Start warming up.”  
“I’m gonna go now Emi. Have fun! Do your best!”  
“Bye!”  
Tooru waved at all the dance parents, and as the door shut behind him, he took a breath.   
He drove down the street, eyes cutting to the long box in the passenger's seat. It was a set of two spoons. One spoon read ‘Tooru’ and the other read ‘Hajime.’ Tooru’s spoon had the number one on it for January, and Hajime’s had the number 20 on it for January 20th. It was a cute gift, and he was very proud of it.  
He parked in front of his house, grabbed the box, and walked in. “I’m home!”  
Hajime walked out from their bedroom, stretching. “God, I just got everything out of the way workwise. Happy anniversary, babe. I can’t believe it’s been twenty years already. It all feels the same.”  
Tooru smiled and rolled his eyes, lacing his fingers around the back of Hajime’s shoulders. “Emi reminded me exactly how old we were.”  
“She said I was balding, but she’s not tall enough to see the top of my head.”   
“Ehh, I wouldn’t bet on that. Isn’t she, like, 4’2?”  
Hajime narrowed his eyes. “I hate your guts.”  
“I love you, too. Now, what do you wanna do for two hours while Emi is at dance?”  
“We need to shower and get ready.”   
Tooru raised his eyebrows. “What about we save a little water?”  
“Oh my God,” Hajime laughed. “Shut the fuck up. What are you, a teenager?”  
“I didn’t mean have sex,” Tooru groaned. “I’m not *there* yet today.”  
“Oh, I’m sorry, what is that supposed to mean then? Hug each other in the shower?”  
“I don’t know! Yes? It sounded sweet!”   
Hajime laughed, and Tooru crossed his arms. “Okay,” Hajime replied. “You’re right. It does sound sweet. I’m sorry.”  
“Thanks Haj.”

_“The water is so hot Tooru-ow-”  
“Are you kidding? I cooled it down for you!”  
“It’s literally steaming in here!”  
“That’s what happens when you shower...”  
“This is not sweet at all.”  
“Well I didn’t know you were part walrus, forgive me.” ___

__After both of them showered, shaved, and got ready, there was still about half an hour before they had to drive to pick up Emi. They found themselves sitting on the couch.  
“Hajime?”  
“Hm.”  
“Do you know your rice purity score?” Hajime looked up from his phone.   
“What’s that?”  
“I don’t know, I found it on Facebook.”  
“Let me google it.” Hajime typed it into his search engine, and clicked on the link. “Uh, this is kind of explicit.”  
“I know, just take it.”  
“I got a 35.” Hajime said after a while. “That test makes me feel like a stud.”  
“I know, right?” Tooru snickered. “I got a 34.”  
“Aw, what did you have that I didn’t?”  
“Our first time was your first time, wasn’t it? You’ve never had sex with a virgin. I hope.”  
Hajime snorted. “I haven’t, I guess.” It was quiet for about thirty seconds. “Don’t share our scores on facebook, I don’t want my mom to see that and try it out.”  
“I can practically hear her calling right now,” Tooru laughed. One time, Tooru posted a picture of Hajime and him in their kitchen. They happened to not have shirts on, and because of this Hajime’s mother had called and ordered him to _tell Tooru-kun to take that down right away people are going to think you two are paturiya- _  
“Can you imagine? She would probably drive here with her sandal to beat me up.”  
“Her birthday is in a couple of weeks, right?”  
“Oh, yeah. On February 13, she’ll be 81.”  
“We should get her something. Oh! Speaking of…” Tooru stood up and rooted through his bag to find the box. “Happy anniversary!”  
“Tooru, you’re unbelievable. I told you not to buy anything.”  
“Like you don’t have something also,” Tooru scoffed. Hajime raised his hands in mock defeat, and pulled out a small box from behind the couch. “Here, this is for you.”  
Tooru undid the tape from the box, and folded back the wrapping paper. In it was a giant white mug that read in black calligraphy ‘my husband has the best husband ever.’ He immediately smacked his forehead, laughing.  
“Hajime,” He wheezed. “What the fuck is this?”  
“I couldn’t find a mug that didn’t say Mr. and Mrs. so I had to…”  
“Look up the gay ones?”  
“Yeah.”  
“And this one was the only one you could find that wasn’t covered in rainbows?”  
“...Yeah.”  
“Oh, Hajime. I love it. Thank you.”  
“I’m so sorry,” He chuckled, quickly pecking him on the lips. “Okay, now can I open mine?”  
“Alright.”  
Hajime opened the box, took out the spoons, and was very confused until Tooru arranged them together. “Oh, like spooning?”  
“Yes.”  
“We don’t really spoon too often anymore.” Hajime said thoughtfully.  
“We never have a lot of time,” Tooru replied.   
“Hey, why is mine slightly smaller-since when am I the little spoon?”  
Tooru snickered. “I bought them to scale.”  
Hajime started snickering also. “You jackass. We have to go pick up Emi, come on.”  
They both stood up, patted their pockets down in normal Dad fashion, and headed out the door.  
“Emiko is not looking forward to this, by the way,” Tooru said.  
“Why would she be? We’re taking her to watch people play instruments for an hour and a half in the dark where she’s probably going to be one of the only kids there,” Hajime reasoned, stepping into the driver’s seat.  
“We’re also going to dinner.”  
“Well yeah, but is that something a nine year old looks forward to?”  
Tooru snorted. “No, but I think she’ll enjoy it a little bit. Plus, maybe we can get ice cream or something after.”   
“Okay,” Hajime pulled up to the studio. “I’ll go in and get her.”___ _

____Hajime entered waiting room A to see Emi, looking very nervous, Ennoshita behind her. “Anything you want to say, Emiko-san?”  
“I would like to say that I’m looking forward to going to the symphony and experiencing the arts on a different level than I normally do,” She said, whipping her head back around to Ennoshita, who seemed appeased.   
“Happy anniversary, Iwaizumi-san.”  
Hajime nodded his thanks, and signed Emi out. The minute they left the building, both of them started laughing.   
“What was that all about?”  
“I was whispering to Aoma about the dumb violins, and I forgot that Ennoshita-san knows all.”  
“Oh, Kiddo. Your Dad wants to do it, so just hang on, okay?”  
“Oh my God, fine."_ _ _ _


	10. Tooru's Not Letting Me Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emi breaks her ankle. Hajime has news. 
> 
> TW: injuries, mild anxiety

“Does it hurt when I do this?” Tooru prodded at Emi’s ankle, and she hissed. “Yeah.”  
He had walked into TDS, and saw Emi’s foot propped up on a wooden box. She was sitting out, and Aoma and Yuuka were both sitting by her.   
“She fell on her ankle,” Ennoshita explained. “It didn’t roll, and it’s not bruised, but I suggest she stay off of it, lots of ice, elevation, I’m sure you know the drill.” Tooru nodded.   
“I’ve had many sprained ankles in my volleyball career. She’s in good hands. Thank you.” Ennoshita sighed. “Good.”  
Tooru turned back to Emi. “Okay. I’m gonna pick you up now.”  
“Okay.”  
He carried her to the car, and plopped her in the front seat. “Iwa is the real expert at this,” He said, as he dialed the only number he knew by heart, and put it on speaker  
“Hello? Is something wrong?”  
“I sprained my ankle,” Emi said grumpily. “And it hurts like a B-word.” Tooru’s eyes cut to Emi, and she gesticulated. “It’s true!”   
“Oh. That sucks,” Hajime said from the other line. “Well, we’ll watch for swelling and bruising tomorrow, I’ll be home with an ace bandage in a little bit. Ice it. 15 minutes on, 15 off.”  
“Will do,” Tooru said. “Get back to work.”  
“Alright. Bye.” Hajime hung up the phone, and Tooru sighed.   
“Let’s get you inside, Sweetie.”

Emi was soon propped up on the couch, foot elevated, watching Tooru scan the drawers for a bandage. “Yeah, the only ankle braces we have are for grown men. But you’re lucky because this happens to be what me and Iwa-chan know a lot about.”  
“Really?”  
“Yeah, this is what Iwa-chan went to college for.”  
“Oh.”  
Tooru took out an ice pack, and put it over the spot on Emi’s foot where she was hissing at. “Alright. Our acronym here is RICE. Run that back to me?”  
“Rice…”  
“Good, and that stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.”  
“Okay.”  
“Iwa-chan’s bringing home a bandage so we can properly wrap up your ankle, but for now, we’ll just ice it.”  
Emi nodded, and squirmed around.   
“So,” Tooru said. “What’s RICE and what does it stand for?”  
“Rice is how I’m gonna get back on my ankle...uh, rest, ice, compression, elevation.”  
“Great. And above all else,” Tooru’s eyes darkened, and he got down on eye level with her. “You have to stay off of it. You know why?”  
“Why?” Tooru looked down and patted his left knee.   
“Because that’s how Daddy fucked up his knee.”   
Emi gaped at him. “That’s inappropriate to say.”  
“It is. I’m sorry. Seriously, though. If you don’t heal 100% now and then over-exert yourself later, what starts off as a sprained ankle can turn into a life long pain in the tuckus and can hinder you as an athlete. So I don’t want to see you walking on it, and I mean it.”  
“Okay.”  
“Alright then. You’ll be back on it in no time.”  
“Can we watch TV?”  
“Well, I guess you’re allowed since you can’t really do a lot,” Tooru said, setting down beside her and turning it on. “Do you want to watch sports or a movie?”  
“I have a question,” Emi asked, ignoring him. “Were you and Iwa-chan ever on TV for volleyball?”  
“Yeah, a lot of times,” Tooru said. “For games. Do you want to see?”  
“Yeah!”  
Tooru went to recordings, and selected a game where he played the whole time, and the other team got crushed. “Now, volleyball is a little confusing, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask me.”  
“Okay. First question.”  
“Go ahead.”  
“Are you the one all the way back there? Why are you outside of the court?”  
“I used to be the team captain, and the team captains have to be civil and shake hands before the games start.”  
“Was Iwa-chan always the coach?”  
“For this team, yes. When we were in high school, no. He was the best hitter on the team.”  
"Really?"  
"Yeah," Tooru smiled.   
“Is captain a position?”  
“Nope. I was a setter. Setters take the pass, and toss it up in the air again for the hitters. Very important position. Some may even say it's the most important.”

Half an hour later, Hajime walked through the door to see Emi unintentionally roasting everyone on the opposite side of the court.  
“And is that dude an idiot? Can’t he see the ball is going to the...opposite hitter?”  
“That’s what we call a lazy blocker. Hi, Iwa-chan. Emi wanted to see one of our old games.”  
“Oh cool. Uh, have you been icing that ankle?”  
“Yes,” Emi said. “It’s supposed to come off again in one minute.”  
“Alright. Did Daddy teach you RICE?”  
“Yeah, and he also said the f-word,” Emi pointed out. Hajime narrowed his eyes at Tooru, who was sheepishly nodding his head.   
“Really, Tooru?” He asked, exasperated.  
“I did. I said that I fricked up my knee. But I also said I was sorry, so I don’t know why Emiko’s throwing me under the bus.”  
“Don’t you flip this on me, Dad!” Emi protested. “You’re the one that said it!”  
Tooru sighed in defeat. “You know what? Sometimes it’s okay to say cuss words.”  
“Not in that instance,” Hajime pointed out. “Only when you’re in a health-threatening situation. Or on a roller coaster.”  
“Yeah. Now let’s see about that ankle.”

Emi had been transported to her bed for the night, and Hajime and Tooru were sitting in the living room. There was always a stillness in the house when she went to bed that was never there when she was awake, filling up the empty space in the room. Neither of them were used to the quiet anymore. Tooru was working on his computer, and Hajime was staring down at his hands.  
“She probably needs crutches. Or one crutch," Tooru said.  
“We have some in the back. I can adjust them tomorrow,” Hajime mumbled.  
“Alright. I wonder how long Ennoshita just left her to sit there.”  
“Probably not long. He would have called.”  
Tooru frowned at his computer. “Should we be scheduling a doctor’s appointment? I know you have like, expertise, or whatever, but just to make sure?”  
Hajime shook his head. “I’m 99% sure it’s just a sprain. Ennoshita said she didn’t roll it, right?”  
“Yeah. Well, if it’s really still swelling after a couple of days, we should book an appointment. Hajime hummed his agreement and drummed his fingers on the table.  
Tooru looked up sharply, about to ask why Hajime was being so pensive. He was met with a look from him so distressed that he looked a little green in the face.  
“Hajime? Something wrong?”  
“No, it’s nothing like that,” Hajime said quickly. “I just have something to tell you, is all.”  
Tooru raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Okay...well, tell me then.”  
“First and foremost,” Hajime started, desperately trying for his voice not to shake. “I want to say that I love you beyond what words could describe, and I love Emiko more than what words can describe, and...God-I just don’t want to lose either of you,” He said, voice beginning to crack. All the pigment left Tooru’s face.  
“Hajime, tell me what’s wrong. You’re scaring me a little bit.” He grabbed his hands when the first tear slipped out of his eyes.  
“I don’t want you to see me as a different type of person,” He whispered. “When I tell you this. Because I still love you so much.  
“Hajime, what is going on?” Tooru exclaimed, worry completely overtaken on his features. “  
“What’s going on is…” He croaked out “I’m...bisexual. I’m much more attracted to men and I haven’t been looking at women or seeing a woman or anything but-”   
“Sweetheart,” Tooru exhaled, resting his head where their hands were clasped together. “You almost gave me a fucking heart palpitation. I thought you were having an affair or something,” He sighed again. “Hajime. I’m so, so, so proud of you and my love for you won’t change with what you identify as. You’ll never lose me over something like that, and you have my everlasting trust. But Jesus Christ, never scare me like that again.”  
Hajime laughed a little. Tooru looked up, and slowly wiped a tear off his cheek. “I’ll love you always, okay?”  
He nodded, and blinked. “God, it’s been a long time since I’ve cried like that. I was just...so scared. And with Emi-”  
“You think I’m ruthless enough to separate my daughter from her parent that’s been in her life since birth? Even if we did get divorced, or broke up, or whatever the fuck Japan says we can do, you would still be seeing her.”  
Hajime sighed. “That’s...that means a lot. I’ve been thinking about that since the day we figured out I couldn’t be on those papers.”  
“Well, listen. I know you probably don’t need to be told this, but no matter what the papers say, or what the government or anyone else says, you’re her Dad. We are her Dads. Together. You’re not just there... Hajime, you are one of the best fathers I’ve ever fucking seen.”  
Hajime sighed. “I’m so lucky to have you. What the hell did I do to deserve this?”  
“You did everything,” Tooru said. “You are everything. God, now I’m tearing up.” He wiped at his eyes. “Come on, I’m tired. Let’s go to bed.”  
Hajime nodded. “Okay. Yeah. Me too.”  
The pit in Hajime’s stomach wasn’t nearly resolved. Going to bed the first night after coming out was always the worst, in his opinion. It had been that way since he was fourteen years old. Knowing that someone close to him now knew something very personal and vulnerable always shook him to his core, no matter how much he had been through with them.   
Even Tooru wasn’t exempt from this. There was no going back once he told him. He knew that Tooru would support him no matter what deep down, but anxiety got the best of him. Again. Hajime bristled. He had told himself that he wouldn’t cry. He had told himself that he would be unapologetic, but he let his mind get the best of him. He didn’t feel relieved, he felt sick.  
He shook his head. Hajime would have to sleep it off and cut it out in due time. There was no use worrying about Tooru when he already told him, and he already said that he was supportive. With no hesitation, at that. There was no difference, it was fine.  
He took a deep breath, and followed Tooru down the hallway. It was just the aftershocks. He was fine. Great, even.   
Tooru turned around to go back to the kitchen, planting a kiss on his cheek as he walked the other way down the dark hall. “You need a glass of water, I think.”  
Hajime nodded in agreement. “You’re probably right.”  
There was the difference. Tooru knew every fiber of his brain like the back of his hand. He understood. Tooru was one of the most emotionally intelligent people he knew. Tooru wouldn’t let him down. Not ever.

He didn’t have to worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> someone be my Tooru please :,)


End file.
